What do the regulations require? The regulations require hospitals participating in Medicaid and Medicare to have written policies and procedures regarding patients’ visitation rights. Hospitals must: (1) inform each patient of his or her right to receive visitors whom he or she designates, including a domestic partner, (2) do not restrict or limit visitation rights based on sexual orientation and gender identity, among other factors and (3) ensure that all visitors have full and equal visitation rights, consistent with a patient’s wishes. A hospital that fails to comply with these new requirements could be terminated from the Medicare program (the largest healthcare payer in the country), making it ineligible to receive either Medicare or